Gangsters going for that GQ look

As Los Angeles police continue to ratchet up their fight against an intractable social problem, some gang members are trying to escape the attention of patrolling officers by growing out their shaved-off hair, covering up their tattoos and losing the baggy clothes.

Call it a gang makeover.

"You can't tell who's who anymore," said Rene Avelar, program coordinator for New Directions for Youth, a North Hollywood gang-prevention group.

Avelar works with kids on a daily basis, trying to wrest them away from the grip of gangs. He said he has noticed the trend on the streets firsthand.

"The way they present themselves in public - they've caught on to that."

Los Angeles Police Department gang specialists said the makeover goes beyond cosmetic tricks to fool authorities and rival gangs, and it is actually affecting the crimes that gangs commit.

Instead of high-profile crimes like robbery and murder, police said more are getting into white-collar crimes that carry less risk, such as identity theft.

Some adopt hip-hop styles: nice jeans, basketball shoes, maybe a sports jersey and a little bit of bling, such as a Rolex or an earring.

But Los Angeles street gang expert Alex Alonso said the new gang trends in crime and fashion might be rooted in more than desire to throw off the cops. Rather, gang members are simply evolving along with everyone else.

"If you go back from, let's say, 1970 to the present, there's been no large period of time where gangs wore one type of clothes. There's always been a shifting style," Alonso said.

But whatever the purpose, the changing style can create surprises for police.

One LAPD gang unit senior officer said a gang leader recently arrested in North Hollywood looked like just about any other guy on the street.

"If you didn't know who he was, and he had his hat on, you would think he was just into hip-hop," said the officer, who, to protect his family, asked to be identified only as Officer Guerrero.

Veteran Van Nuys gang unit Lt. Dave Storaker attributes such changes to an age-old cat-and-mouse game between police and gangsters.

"As they learn that we know certain things about them, they kind of morph, trying to change their tactics and trying to change their dress," he said.

North Hollywood's gang unit has photographs pasted up on the walls, showing different gangs and their unique styles.

In some photos, the gang members flashing signs are dressed in nondescript street duds: zip-up hoodies, regular-fit jeans and basketball or skater shoes.

Members of a prominent Salvadoran gang dress like typical blue-collar workers. Members of an Asian gang go for a hip-hop look. Armenian gang members don't stick to any one look.

Most of them deny they're part of a gang when police ask, Guerrero said.

"It's not that they're not proud. It's that ... the less attention you get from police, the more you can do your narcotics and gun sales," he said.

The officer recounted a talk he had with a 14-year-old gang member.

The kid had a full head of hair and wore a school uniform. When Guerrero asked him if he was in a gang, he excitedly admitted he was.